UW students Tessa Trouchon, left, and Alexandra Farkas present their business idea
during the spring 2019 semester at the Wyoming Technology Business Center as part
of a “New Entrepreneurial Ventures” class taught by Patrick Kreiser, the Rile Endowed
Chair of Entrepreneurship and Leadership in the College of Business. UW students will
serve as interns for Wyoming startup businesses under a new program of the Institute
of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. (UW Photo)
Startup businesses across Wyoming will have a pipeline to student interns from the
University of Wyoming as a result of a new program of UW’s Institute of Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (IIE).
Starting this summer, the IIE will provide financial support to interns working for
early-stage ventures in the state.
“This program will allow our students to experience what it is like to work in the
exciting entrepreneurial environment of a startup, and startup businesses will receive
support from students at little or no cost,” says Jack Mason, the IIE’s chief operating
officer. “Ultimately, this is about developing and retaining a high-quality workforce
that can think and act entrepreneurially and innovatively.”
Startup firms are expected to identify, as a part of the position description, learning
objectives and mentors to support successful learning environments for students, so
they can experience the excitement of working in an entrepreneurial setting. In exchange,
the firms will gain the help of students to support their needs -- with the IIE providing
a stipend in the form of an honorarium -- and have the opportunity to develop potential
future employees.
Interested firms should visit www.uwyo-iie.org/internship and call Mason at (307)
766-2681 or email jmason25@uwyo.edu for information on the program, guidelines for host firms and a template for defining
an intern position, including learning objectives. Once positions are defined and
approved, they will be posted on the IIE website as well as with career services organizations
throughout the university. The IIE will promote the program and recruit students when
they return in late August.
